1. Do you carry every day?
2. Do you keep a night table gun or rifle nearby?
3. Do you keep other loaded guns, rifles, or shotguns throughout the house?
4. Do you have a 4 legged early warning system and/or house alarm?

1. Do you carry every day?
2. Do you keep a night table gun or rifle nearby?
3. Do you keep other loaded guns, rifles, or shotguns throughout the house?
4. Do you have a 4 legged early warning system and/or house alarm?

1. Yes, either a S&W Shield 9mm or a S&W BG380
2. Yes, Beretta M9A1 in nightstand draw and Mossberg 500 a few feet away
3. Unless the gun is on me the Beretta and Mossberg stay in the bedroom
4. No

Quote:

After being on the job for 25 years its my experience that random home invasions and violent crime generally finds those who court it. I am by no means opposed to common sense security, but I can honestly say that I have never seen a random home invasion where the owner was not involved in something illicit.

Wow, this makes me hard to believe you were an LEO for 25 years, no offense but that is the most ridiculous statement I have heard in a while.

colbad
Mostly common sense and good judgement. Sounds like many of you live in a combat zone or have been watching too many movies.....good grief! After being on the job for 25 years its my experience that random home invasions and violent crime generally finds those who court it. I am by no means opposed to common sense security, but I can honestly say that I have never seen a random home invasion where the owner was not involved in something illicit.

I would have to disagree with you 110%. I grew up in Chicago and I can assure you that really bad things happen to decent people who are not involved in anything illicit. I've had cars follow my then wife home and tried to abduct her until she pulled a gun on them. I've had people tried to break into my apartment while I was at home sleeping at 2 AM. I've been burglarized a couple of times. We've had bad people try to rob us (or worst) with dozens of people around.

I currently live in a semi-affluent community and we have thugs going around ringing doorbells to see if homeowners are home. When confronted, they come up with some lame excuse about looking for their lost pet. BTW, a home invasion took place about 1,000 yards away from my house last year.

So, do you mean that because I am a God-fearing honest family man who is also an executive of a legitimate billion dollar organization that I should not have to worry about home invasions or worry about being attacked?

3. Do you keep other loaded guns, rifles, or shotguns throughout the house?

No.

Quote:

4. Do you have a 4 legged early warning system and/or house alarm?

Stupid cat. Worthless as an alarm.

__________________
"As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. "

1. All day, every day.
2. When I go to bed, yes. The rest of the time I body carry.
3. A rifle in the safe room as a fallback position weapon. I body carry at home rather than stage weapons.
4. Yes and yes, as well as reinforced exterior doorways and gates mounted inside (they keep the dogs out of the kitchen, but serve double duty as choke points between the exterior doors and the bedrooms.)

I carry nearly everywhere I go. My Kimber UCDP is on me right now as I type, as is usual. It comes off to go on the nightstand when I sleep. If I change into loungewear before bed, I bring it out to the family room and it sits next to me. Loaded AR and shotgun in safe. I live in an area where crime is generally not expected, but some are simply nonchalant about their surroundings and are therefore shocked when it happens to them. All my doors are double-locked and I have 3 sets of security lights and an alarm. Looking into improving the system with video.

Quote:

After being on the job for 25 years its my experience that random home invasions and violent crime generally finds those who court it. I am by no means opposed to common sense security, but I can honestly say that I have never seen a random home invasion where the owner was not involved in something illicit.

Wouldn't exactly be random then, would it?

__________________
Stevie-Ray
Join the NRA/ILA
I am the weapon; my gun is a tool. It's regrettable that with some people those descriptors are reversed.

I carry 90% of the time and have a loaded gun near me in house or in car 99%. Also have a dog that has chose us as it's owner outside, security cameras all around the house & barn with monitors on different levels in three locations as well as smart phone/PC viewing. In addition there's optex wireless 2000 sensors in three locations that emit different tones on two levels of house. There's always a gun & flashlight on nightstand at night with shotgun "000" buck nearby too. Almost forgot there's also a full perimeter alarm system, glass breaks & motions & strobe lights connected to radio transmitter for monitoring. . We are kind of in the boonies, but I think I've got it pretty well covered.

I plan on getting a cat sometime soon. An adorable loving companion, but not very useful as an alarm system.

Don't totally discount the warning capabilities of your cat. They tend to be more active at night than dogs and although they aren't nearly as loud, their nervous reaction to an intruder can be enough to rouse you.

1. Do you carry every day?
2. Do you keep a night table gun or rifle nearby?
3. Do you keep other loaded guns, rifles, or shotguns throughout the house?
4. Do you have a 4 legged early warning system and/or house alarm?

1: Yes, a Ruger SP101 .357 2.25"
2: At night, the SP101 goes into a quick-access nightstand Safe next to my bed.
3: I do not keep guns throughout the house due to my children. I do keep loaded guns (shotgun and a few pistols) in my Safe. I do carry my gun all day 95% of the time though, even in the house.
4: House alarm, motion lights, motion detectors, driveway alert and dog in the near future (I will come home to one, one day.. my kids will talk my wife into it and she is a sucker, lol).

Don't totally discount the warning capabilities of your cat. They tend to be more active at night than dogs and although they aren't nearly as loud, their nervous reaction to an intruder can be enough to rouse you.

Very true. They're quiet for sure, but their absence alone can alert you to danger. We have 3 that sleep on our bed. When they're off the bed and running around, we know it and it's usually something going on outside. For the most part it's animals, but there has been a couple times when somebody was stopped outside on the highway, i.e. car trouble, etc. Our cats are quite nosy, and though I don't consider them an alert system, they've had me up and checking quite a few times.

__________________
Stevie-Ray
Join the NRA/ILA
I am the weapon; my gun is a tool. It's regrettable that with some people those descriptors are reversed.

1. Do you carry every day?
2. Do you keep a night table gun or rifle nearby?
3. Do you keep other loaded guns, rifles, or shotguns throughout the house?
4. Do you have a 4 legged early warning system and/or house alarm?

1. No. I am going to my first CCW class Saturday, but still won't/can't carry everyday.
2. I have the Glock 19 and the Mossberg 500 with 00 buck ready to roll. I don't live in a terrible neighborhood; but armed home invasions do occur.
3. Absolutely not. I have a two-year old. Even if I didn't though this seems like a really bad idea. What if someone breaks in and finds a loaded shotgun? I have no desire to be shot by my own firearm and consequently every one of them is either on me, locked up and unloaded, or in a state of disassembly.
4. No. I live in a small house with really tight doors that sound like a freaking explosion when you open them. I am a very light sleeper and small sounds will wake me up. I don't have much worth stealing; so I won't be confronting anyone over property. Just defending in place.

1. yes
2. yes, my carry gun becomes the nightstand gun when I take my pants off.
3. no, I always have a carry gun with me.
4. Sort of. I have a 20lb dog, but I usually have to tell her when someone is at the door. She is partially deaf. She only hears the frequencies of an ice cream bar wrapper or goodie bag opening.

1. Yes, usually my Kahr PM9. When I'm home, I usually swap it for an NAA Pug for weight and comfort reasons. It's in my pocket now.
2. Yes, a Springfield .45 1911
3. Yes, several ... the Pug is good for an emergency, but if I have a few seconds, I can get to one or another of the guns stashed around.
4.Yes, my loudmouth beagle, the intrepid Shiner. As for cats, mine hides if somebody walks by the house. The woman who takes care of him when we travel has never actually seen him. He's usually in the guts of the sofa.

I live in a small, very quiet community. In the 10+ years I've been here, there have been no murders, and no major robberies involving gunplay. The worst crime I can remember involved the pistol-whipping of an old couple in their home; they had an alarm and authorities showed up in time to corral the baddies. Still, carrying has been a habit for that entire time and I'm not about to discontinue it now.

__________________
"The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants." Albert Camus

I used to keep guns stashed about the house until I had a gun safe. One nightmare scenario is that if you came home and surprised a burglar, the chances are very good you will be seeing one of your own guns pointed at you. Now, my guns are either under my immediate control, on my person, or locked away in a safe.

I realized there is one other key component to my home security setup I forgot to mention.

Orange lights. I have canister lamps staged around the house with 13 watt orange CFL bulbs I use as night lights. Thanks to the magic of automatic timers, they cycle on/off on their own and each cost a mere $3/year in electricity.

The best thing about the orange light is it allows me to see and move around well at night without turning on regular lights or resorting to flashlights. After using them for several years now, I don't buy into the hype of them improving your sleep, but they certainly don't make it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep (even with chronic insomnia/poor sleep quality like me).

1. Do you carry every day?
2. Do you keep a night table gun or rifle nearby?
3. Do you keep other loaded guns, rifles, or shotguns throughout the house?
4. Do you have a 4 legged early warning system and/or house alarm?

YES
YES, In my handgun safe bolted to my bed frame.
NO, I always pocket carry regardless of my EDC and even around the house.
YES, along with lighting and timers.

1. Do you carry every day? Yep
2. Do you keep a night table gun or rifle nearby? Yep
3. Do you keep other loaded guns, rifles, or shotguns throughout the house? Not yet
4. Do you have a 4 legged early warning system and/or house alarm? Yep

I rotate between three handguns for CC, currently it's a Walther PK380 with Remington golden sabre 102gr JHP's. Whatever my CC was for the day becomes my nightstand gun when I go to bed. All other firearms are unloaded and in the safe. Same routine if my day was spent wandering the great outdoors, whichever one of my two trail guns was carried spends the night on the nightstand. when I alternate firearms it's in the morning and based on what I plan to do that day.

__________________
may God eternally bless the American Rifleman--- as long as one stands, resolute, liberty shall not perish.

I have no CHL but in TX I can legally carry on my property and in my vehicle. I carry a 9mm 18+1 pistol with Federal HST ammo. In my home I have the same pistol but also a 12ga with 8+1 rounds of Rio Low Recoil #4 buckshot. I do carry every time I drive and every time I walk/check my property. A firearm is always within a few feet or a few inches reach. My little pug is aging and seems to be losing his hearing so he doesn't always bark anymore. But I'm not about to replace him now because he's my best friend.

1. Do you carry every day?
2. Do you keep a night table gun or rifle nearby?
3. Do you keep other loaded guns, rifles, or shotguns throughout the house?
4. Do you have a 4 legged early warning system and/or house alarm?

Not trying to be cute but "I" keep me protected.
My training, & the fact that I've seen things that should never, ever, happen to anyone, happen anyway.
The very best & innocent people have suffered from the very worse of people.
Being mentally prepared & armed very well, could have stopped the ugly in it's tracks.
Man; could I tell stories that might be very hard to believe.
I'm crippled now as a result of one of the uglies.
I can't physicially defend me as I once could.
I keep a firearm handy, real handy, all the time.
I have 12 bore pumps, AR rifles, revolvers, pistols, close at hand and I practice very often. (not all at once tho)
I live in the country where about everyone shoots in the back yard.
I have a range to 125 yards & use it.
I favor ctgs that have serious meaning. The .45 a.c.p., the .40 S&W, the .38 +P & the .357 mag.
I sometimes woods walk with a 4" .41 mag. Not so much for two legged preditors but we have a serious feral dog situation around here & people have bbeen attacked by these critters.
There is much sense in knowing the only one that can protect you quickly is you!

1. Do you carry every day?
2. Do you keep a night table gun or rifle nearby?
3. Do you keep other loaded guns, rifles, or shotguns throughout the house?
4. Do you have a 4 legged early warning system and/or house alarm?

1. Yep

2. Yep

3. Yep

4. Have a house alarm. The only time we have a 4 legged early warning system is when we dog sit for my grandaughter.

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